iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Mark Annand

Bertrom. @bertrom.bsky.social · 17/10/2026

Happy 92nd Birthday to the marvelous Alan Garner. ‘The job of a storyteller is to speak the truth. But what we feel most deeply can’t be spoken in words alone. At this level, only images connect. And here, story becomes symbol; symbol is myth. And myth is truth.’

2194 19

Mark Annand @markannand.eurosky.social · 21h

I'm not allowed to mention Red Shift.

110 1

Reposted by Mark Annand

Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 22h

Hivemind, are there any good podcasts on history of Lebanon civil war? Read Pity the Nation years ago but really like to hear podcast/audio series

797 9

Reposted by Mark Annand

Andy Brown @andybrown1951.bsky.social · 17/10/2026

Put more clearly - an arrogant incompetent old man picked an arrogant incompetent woman for her looks and her extremist views and she proved utterly incapable of delivering. That's how the US is being run right now. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Zacharia was thrown into a whirlwind - and failed at a critical time for Trump

The White House is facing growing adversity, writes the BBC's Anthony Zurcher, weeks before crucial midterm elections.

33706152 706

Mark Annand @markannand.eurosky.social · 17/10/2026

"Conservation area". Berwick upon Tweed. 👀 maps.app.goo.gl/vUeJwWTDtpuF...

000 0

Reposted by Mark Annand

Ruslan Trad @ruslantrad.bsky.social · 17/10/2026

A third—a very small segment—is willing to stand up to Russia and defend Europe, but these people hold no real leadership positions. This is the ideal environment for extremism to rise.

0111 11

Reposted by Mark Annand

poemtoday.bsky.social @poemtoday.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Opening the Box The music box tinkling a final note, its lid opens with a puff of dust. A pair of 5d London bus tickets inside, torn and brittle to the touch. Nobody left to say why they were kept, where they started, where they once headed. Matthew Stewart

16210 62

Reposted by Mark Annand

Mixmag @mixmag.net · 16/10/2026

Payments will be backdated to September, while a second batch of artists selected in 2027 will receive payments backdated to January next year

mixmag.net

Irish musicians to start receiving €1,400 basic income each month

Ireland’s government says it will pay over €34 million to 2,000 artists and creative workers in the next three years

03614 36

Reposted by Mark Annand

Kate from Kharkiv @kateinkharkiv.bsky.social · 16/10/2026

I've never met a single soldier who thinks that way. They are fighting because foreign invaders would otherwise occupy their homes, kidnap their children, steal their property, and kill them. That's why, Zelenskyy or no Zelenskyy, they would still defend their country.

10559102 559

Mark Annand @markannand.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

It's... complicated. That photo does seem to have recorded that Robert Anderson on occasion wore a pair of matching shoes, even if in this case they're carpet slippers. In the street.

100 1

Reposted by Mark Annand

MLB @mlbbot.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

Jackson Chourio made a new friend 😭

439449 394

Reposted by Mark Annand

Evan @evansmithhist.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

Today I found out that Umberto Eco crafted a version of this meme in the 1980s…

Beware the
alibi of photocopies ! Photocopies are indis-
pensable instruments. They allow you to keep with you a text you have already read in the library, and to take home a text you have not read yet. But a set of photocopies can become an alibi. A student makes hundreds of pages of photocopies and takes them home, and the manual labor he exercises in doing so gives him the impression that he possesses the work. Owning the photocopies exempts the student from actually reading them. This sort of vertigo of accumulation, a neocapitalism of information, happens to many. Defend yourself from this trap: as soon as you have the photocopy, read it and annotate it immediately. If you are not in a great hurry, do not photocopy something new before you own (that is, before you have read and annotated) the previous set of photocopies. There are many things that I do not know because I photocopied a text and then relaxed as if I had read it.

633467981 3.5K

Mark Annand @markannand.eurosky.social · 15/10/2026

Me. *sets off to fetch the ball that RC has just sent away from the wicket, over the pitch, above the stands and into the meadow or perhaps the river*

000 0

Reposted by Mark Annand

C20 Society @c20society.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Good News Friday: The historic Electric Cinema (1909) on Station Street in Birmingham has been officially added to the city’s Local Heritage List. The UK’s oldest working cinema before abruptly closing in Feb 2024, campaigners have opposed plans to demolish it for a 50 storey residential tower.

The Electric Cinema, Station Street, Birmingham - Bertie Crewe (1909), remodelled by Cecil E.M.Filmore (1937)
Image credit: Roger Wasley, Flickr

The Electric Cinema, Station Street, Birmingham - Bertie Crewe (1909), remodelled by Cecil E.M.Filmore (1937)
Image credit: Birmingham Live

Proposal for a restored and renewed Electric Cinema, by Flatpack Festival and Tim Ronalds Architects

3557 55

Reposted by Mark Annand

Prince Charles Cinema @princecharlescinema.com · 15/10/2026

The Prince Charles Cinema Secures its Future The Prince Charles Cinema is thrilled to announce that we have signed a new 25-year lease with no break clause, ensuring our projectors will keep rolling for years to come. #YouSavedthePCC

852724677 2.7K

Reposted by Mark Annand

Republicans Against Trumpism @rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Zelensky: It's a pity that we are losing a strong partner. Morgan: You think you're losing America? Zelensky: Yeah, but not because of us. We can’t be weak. Otherwise, we can’t survive… This is why it’s painful when Trump chooses to be on Russia’s side. This is not the right side of history.

451090294 1.1K

Reposted by Mark Annand

Julian Simpson @juliansimpson.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

A little behind-the-scenes research on the new Lovecraft Investigations series...

youtu.be

The Lost River Under the City of London

YouTube video by Pure Hokum

05116 51

Reposted by Mark Annand

Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

i dont think the tech bros understand a whole generation of us grew up with an icon telling us exactly how to handle technology gone rogue

311642310 1.6K

Reposted by Mark Annand

Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 14/10/2026

The fear that a now-unreliable US partner could remotely disable technology saw significant rethinking of F-35 purchases. Starlink is a less expensive buy, but has fewer (virtually no) competitors - not sure what that adds up to for divestment.

911814 118

Reposted by Mark Annand

Sue Wilkes @suewilkesauthor.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

A wonderfully written and insightful story about a moral tale. #oathbreakers

183 8

Reposted by Mark Annand

Anna H @athenepallas.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

David Utiger • Autumn Light •

031 3

Reposted by Mark Annand

Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Royal Mail losing 400 postal workers a week, says union. Fewer workers lead to more pressure on those remaining. Low morale. Parcels prioritised over letter delivery. Letter delivery targets not met even when lowered, prices hiked. Can RM survive?

bbc.co.uk

Royal Mail losing 400 postal workers a week, says union

The CWU says more posties are leaving since a new delivery system was brought in, that it claims is not working in hundreds of offices.

57337186 337

Reposted by Mark Annand

Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

It's legitimate for the EU, the UK, Canada and others to support their Ukrainian ally. If Musk is going to (in effect) assist Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine's allies should sanction Starlink, X and Tesla. At the very least, governments (and people) should stop using his fucking site already.

28914362 914

Reposted by Mark Annand

Jane @localnotail.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

FTR shattering letter about how the Conservative Government ignored the entirely credible threat from Putin in favour of feeding The City (& Tory Party) roubles👇 March 23 2022 Carl Scott, Air Commodore (Retired), UK defence attaché in Moscow for five years, 2011-2016 www.ft.com/content/857d...

[4x screenshots from FINANCIAL TIMES]

Letter: A defence attaché despairs at inevitability of conflict

From Carl Scott, Air Commodore (Retired), Oakham, Rutland, UK

[Photo of Sherlock Holmes and Watson monument at the British Embassy in Moscow]

MARCH 23 2022

The recent article by Maria Stepanova "The war of Putin's imagination" (Life & Arts, FT Weekend, March 19) was exemplary. However, one jarring note was the unfounded notion that no one expected this aggression from the Kremlin.

I served as the UK's defence attaché in Moscow for five years, 2011-2016, during which time this long, dark march to war was obvious, the path to conflict lit by the many pronouncements emanating from the dark red walls of Vladimir Putin's palace.

We reported the inevitability of conflict in detail, regularly and with the despair of Cassandra. One of the earliest reports opened with a line from Sherlock Holmes, whose statue stands outside the British Embassy wall: "There's an east wind coming all the same, such a wind as never blew on England yet. It will be cold and bitter, Watson, and a good many of us may wither before its blast."

The evidence of Putin's chosen path was never concealed. His many declarations were meant to be heard and understood: the colossal rearmament programme, the demand for more complex, more lethal weaponry; the militarisation of society; the distortion and seizure of the popular narrative; domination of education, the media and the courts to exclude contrasting views and, ultimately, the alienation and destruction of those among the Russian people who understood the folly of his declared ambition.

The list is remorseless, the consequences could not be ignored. But they were.

It was not until I returned to the UK on the eve of our withdrawal from the EU, a manoeuvre which greatly emboldened those in Moscow, that I understood how our society had changed in the years I was serving overseas.

All was subjugated to the City, all served the interests of our lucrative status as a safe haven for corrupt, and corrupting, wealth. The values we were demanding of other nations had long since faded from our own actions.

I despair at the decisions Putin has taken, but even more at the prospect of finding credible leadership at home in the UK among those who have compromised so long with his regime and the wealth it offered.

Carl Scott

Air Commodore (Retired)

Oakham, Rutland, UK

15382212 382

Reposted by Mark Annand

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

New post: "Drowning in slop" Large parts of the state are being increasingly overwhelmed with complaints, appeals, objections.... written by AI. It's gumming up every process. Britain is particularly vulnerable. How bad has it got and what can we do about it? samf.substack.com/p/drowning-i...

samf.substack.com

Drowning in slop

Can the state survive the rise of AI?

48437152 437

Reposted by Mark Annand

Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

The Polish Foreign Minister responds to claims that Musk strangled Starlink access to Ukrainian forces costing Ukrainian lives.

Radosław Sikorski
@sikorskiradek
Hey, @elonmusk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again?
As your European customers, we are watching you.

681815580 1.8K

Reposted by Mark Annand

Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

SpaceX’s Starlink speed cap is confirmed at 60-70 km/h on Ukrainian terminals which kills connectivity for all medium-range kamikaze drones: FP-2, Darts, Hornet, RAM-2 and others. It also impacts Ukraine’s drone interceptors that rely on Starlink to shoot down Russian Shahed-type jets.

28733249 733

Reposted by Mark Annand

WarTranslated (Dmitri) @wartranslated.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Zelenskyy stated that Russia struck CHP-4 in Kyiv without any warning from partners and is preparing new ballistic missile launches, despite Ukraine's support for the energy ceasefire. The military and emergency services are determining all the circumstances.

726551 265

Reposted by Mark Annand

Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Look, Zelensky signalling that the US has cut off all warning of Russian missile attacks on Ukraine.

641568696 1.6K

Mark Annand @markannand.eurosky.social · 13/10/2026

Such a remarkable location - though yes I should imagine your mobile phone won't even consider connecting to a UK cell from there.

100 1

Mark Annand @markannand.eurosky.social · 13/10/2026

The daily train from Manchester picked up a portion from Liverpool and over the Runcorn Bridge - to rendezvous with it at Crewe. Onward (eventually) via @twotunnelsbath.bsky.social to the south coast.

110 1

Mark Annand @markannand.eurosky.social · 13/10/2026

Hadn't thought of that connection. Indeed, Green Park Station was Bath's 'Gateway to the North' and @twotunnelsbath.bsky.social happened because for once, the people mattered.

Green Park Station. The Two Tunnels campaign launch piggybacked on the anniversary event marking the line's closure.

7F locomotive brought to Green Park by Steam Railway Magazine.

010 1

Reposted by Mark Annand

Keith Harrison @keithharrison.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

‘Gateway to the North’ is a fabulous track… next time I’m in Bath it might cross my mind if I wander into Green Park Station (e.g. for the record shop.) I’m aware it used to be possible (before my time) to catch trains to Manchester from there, going the other way to the #twotunnels :-)

211 2

Reposted by Mark Annand

Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan @warringtonruncorn.com · 13/10/2026

Just had a lovely chat with @jamesadrianbrown.bsky.social about Industrial Growth and the creative process. That will be on his radio show soon!

1193 19

Mark Annand @markannand.eurosky.social · 13/10/2026

Just back from Bath's Dorchester Street. For currently obscure reasons only part-connected to the Manvers Street road closure, @warringtonruncorn.com's "Gateway to the North" came to mind. warrington-runcorn-cis.bandcamp.com/track/gatewa...

warrington-runcorn-cis.bandcamp.com

Gateway To The North, by Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan

from the album Interim Report, March 1979

161 6

Mark Annand @markannand.eurosky.social · 13/10/2026

Good. *Sends unsolicited heron pic*

Looking towards Scapa Flow to Graemsay High Light and the distant lights from the oil terminal on Flotta. A crescent moon in the sky and a heron fishes from the shore. Street lights on the road and a single lit window in the Double Houses. The view from Southend, Stromness, around 4pm, Christmas day 2006.

120 2

Reposted by Mark Annand

Laura Phillips @lauraphillips.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

“The Afghan authorities have suspended the transmission of the #BBC from FM radio sites across #Afghanistan. We are continuing to report fairly+ independently in Pashto, Dari and English to our audiences in Afghanistan, on shortwave and medium wave radio, online+via satellite."1/

bbc.co.uk

Statement on BBC services in Afghanistan

22718 27

Reposted by Mark Annand

Robin Hawkes @robhawkes.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Wow Coalburn is a huge battery! It swamps all the other grid-scale batteries on my energy map… It's currently importing some 473 MW out of a maximum 500 MW, that's nearly half the output level of a massive new wind farm like Dogger Bank A.

52411 24

Reposted by Mark Annand

Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Private equity puts PizzaExpress, Morrisons and Itsu up for sale. All devoured and declining brands, asset-stripped. PE has no long-term commitment to any product, people or place. Chances are another PE group will see opportunity for scavenging. archive.ph/DFYPq

ft.com

Private equity puts string of UK high street names up for sale

Owners of PizzaExpress, Morrisons and Itsu seeking exits as buyout groups cool on sector

64697328 697

Reposted by Mark Annand

MG | News EU @mgnewseu.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

🚨 BREAKING: Former senior managers at Whitbread have bought back 58 restaurants and one hotel. The acquisition includes 57 restaurant sites and one Premier Inn hotel. www.cityam.com/former-whitbread-bos…

001 1

Reposted by Mark Annand

Jack Fifield @jackfifield.uk · 13/10/2026

Maybe just putting in a regular tap would have saved state-owned South Western Railway from having to sponsor the water dispenser in its own station. Just a thought.

Sign on side of water refill machine explaining "Why this water is free and why it's not."

It reads: Thanks to SWR's sponsorship, water from this machine is free. This machine's advanced filtration and UV lamps clean and sterilise the water, removing any impurities down to the molecular level. Plus, 10% of money earned from this machine funds marine and freshwater clean-up, neither of which can be done for free. So, whilst it's free to you, it's not.

3306 30

Mark Annand @markannand.eurosky.social · 13/10/2026

Realised it wasn't a dream, and then, articles on their restructuring, plus the recent and ongoing slew of one and two star Trustpilot reviews reminded me to delete my account with Premier Inn.

uk.trustpilot.com

010 1

Reposted by Mark Annand

Yaroslava @strategywoman.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Late night in Kyiv. Another drone threat has just ended. I cannot sleep. Ordered some books. The publisher whose warehouse was hit the other day suggested buying the books that survived. They have traces of fire or water damage. They called the initiative ‘The Fire Didn’t Finish Reading’.

29975225 975